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It’s been quite the sartorial red carpet run for Billy Porter this year. Fresh off his gig as New York Fashion Week’s official men’s show ambassador from Feb. 4-6 — where he donned more than 20 looks ranging from a pearl bib, drop earrings and pearl-embellished sunglasses at The Blonds to a metallic floral-embellished resort top and pants at Michael Kors — the Pose star has hit the red carpet at the 91st Academy Awards wearing nothing less than a black velvet Christian Siriano dress and matching bolero jacket.
Siriano is an apt choice, given that the New York-based designer has made it part of his brand DNA to embrace size and gender inclusivity in his designs as well as in the lineup of models on his runways.
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Peacocking with his usual panache, Porter’s look challenges the typically more restrained dress code at the Academy Awards. Known for breaking barriers with his signature gender-fluid style, Porter has worn dresses before; he most recently rocked a long marigold Calvin Klein gown and coordinating jacket at the American Film Institute luncheon last month. Posting a photo on his Instagram page, he noted that he wore the dress to honor “the lives of our marginalized brothers and sisters from the LGBTQAI+ community.”
“I have always used clothes as a tool for self-expression and find immense pleasure in celebrating life, love and joy through fashion,” he told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month.
The Broadway star, who won a Tony for his role as the original Lola in Kinky Boots, made another major statement at the Golden Globes last month in a custom couture look by New York-based designer Randi Rahm that took six months to make. His lavishly embellished jacket had an attached cape with fuschia lining, worthy of a sartorial superhero — and oh how he struck a pose.
Porter was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actor for his role as Pray Tell in the FX musical drama Pose, set in New York’s ’80s drag ball scene. Co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, Pose made history for featuring primetime’s largest cast of transgender actors and the largest cast of recurring LGBTQ characters for a scripted series to date. The drama has been renewed for a second season, due out later this year.
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